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Dark Shadows: 655
The second night of a full moon shining over the Great House of Collinwood; a night marked for tragedy, for in the village, one man has watched his cousin turn from a human being into a mad, vicious animal; an animal which only a few nights ago tried to kill him, and having escaped, he has only one thing he must do. The shock and horror have robbed him of his reason and sent him on a mad mission, which must necessarily end in disaster, perhaps for more people than anyone realizes. Synopsis Carolyn Stoddard finally returns home after having been away for some time and is in a great state of shock after learning about everything that has happened to Vicki and her mother. Julia Hoffman reiterates what she had told Barnabas earlier; while there is nothing wrong with Mrs. Stoddard on a physical level, she believes that she is going to die. While the two women talk, Joe Haskell sneaks into Collinwood. Clearly in a state of great anxiety, he evades the attention of Julia and Carolyn and skulks upstairs. Elizabeth meanwhile, sleeps in her bed and has a bizarre dream. In the dream, Elizabeth is dressed in a night gown and wandering the grounds of Collinwood. She follows the eerily sung lyrics of Rock-a-Bye Baby until she finally comes upon Amy Jennings. Amy asks her, "Have you come to see her too?", to which Liz replies, "Who?" Both questions are answered by the mocking laughter of a woman. From out of the shadows steps Cassandra Blair. She taunts Elizabeth, warning her that she is helpless against her powers. Cassandra sends Amy away and admits to Elizabeth that she is the one responsible for her death obsession. She looms in close and stretches out her hand to claim Elizabeth. Liz wakes up screaming. Carolyn and Julia hear her cries of terror and rush into the room. Liz is out of bed in a state of panic. They settle her back into her bed and Elizabeth tells them about the dream. For some reason however, she cannot recall the identity of the woman who tormented her. She then asks Julia to check on Amy. She is afraid for her, but doesn't know why. Meanwhile, Joe Haskell creeps into Amy's room while she sleeps. He has lost all sense of reason due to the revelation that his cousin is a werewolf and feels as if some malefic force has infected all members of his family such as his late cousin Tom and now Amy. He leans over her sleeping form and considers strangling her. At the last moment however, he decides that he can save her. He grabs a suit case and begins packing away Amy's clothes. Amy wakes up and asks what Joe is doing. Joe tells her that he is taking her away from Collinsport. He mutters on about not letting her become like "either of them", but Amy cannot make sense of what he is saying. Amy is scared now and tells Joe that she doesn't want to go with him. He violently shakes her and promises that no matter what happens, she is never going to find out the truth about her cousin. Covering her mouth with his hand, Joe scoops her up and carries her downstairs. Moments later, Carolyn enters Amy's room to check on her as Liz asked. Amy is gone, but her erratically packed suitcase still sits on the dresser. She calls for Julia and wonders if Amy has run away. Julia tells Carolyn to lie to Elizabeth about Amy being missing. She doesn't want to exacerbate her condition by validating her fears. While Julia goes downstairs to search for Amy, Carolyn returns to her mother's bedside. She tells her that Amy is fine, but Liz immediately detects that her daughter is distressed about something. After Carolyn leaves, Liz goes to Amy's room and finds her missing. Cassandra steps out from the shadows and continues to torment her. She tells her that everything that she fears most is now coming to pass. Outside, Joe carries Amy along through the woods. He stops for a moment and begins looking around. With a wide-eyed stare, Joe mutters, "He knows... he knows I have you". He then shouts to the air, "You can't have her! You don't want her!" In the midst of his mania, Amy manages to wriggle free and runs off. Inside the house, Julia telephones the Collinsport Inn hoping to get a hold of Chris. She asks the clerk if anyone matching Amy's description has arrived there, but the clerk tells her no. She then decides to call the police. Just then, Amy runs into the house in tears. Julia hangs up the phone and runs to her. Joe walks into the house a moment later. He tries to take Amy, but Julia bars his path. Amy runs upstairs. Julia demands to know what has gotten into him, but Joe's rambling makes even less sense than it did before. He keeps repeating the phrase "... the animal...". Julie tries to tell him that the animal who attacked him is not a threat to Amy so long as she is in this house. Joe begins laughing uncontrollably and Julia is forced to slap him. Suddenly, a pain-wracked shriek is heard from upstairs. Julia races up the steps and down the hall. She finds Carolyn kneeling over the body of her mother who has collapsed upon the floor. Julia checks her pulse and solemnly understands what Carolyn already knows, Elizabeth is dead. Mrs. Stoddard's mind is still alive though, and she can hear and understand everything around her. She cannot speak. She cannot move. She is completely helpless. Cast Notes & Trivia * This episode is included on disc 4 of Dark Shadows DVD Collection 11 and disc 68 of Dark Shadows: The Complete Original Series DVD collection. * Opening narration: Joan Bennett * Closing still: Woods outside of Collinwood. * This episode was recorded on December 19th, 1968. * This episode begins the "Death of Elizabeth Collins Stoddard" storyline. * This episode is part of the "The Curse of the Werewolf" storyline. * Joe Haskell appears next in episode 658. This will be his final episode in the series. * Stock samples of a wolf howl is played over Joan Bennett's opening monologue. * Cassandra Collins, aka, Cassandra Collins is in fact Angelique Bouchard, nemesis to Barnabas Collins. * The sound effect used to simulate Elizabeth screaming is clearly not Joan Bennett's voice. * Amy's age is established as nine-years-old in this episode. Allusions * Victoria Winters disappeared into the past with Peter Bradford in episode 650. * Elizabeth Collins Stoddard resumed her preoccupation with death in episode 651. * Carolyn Stoddard has been away since episode 644. * Angelique first appeared as Cassandra in the present day in episode 473. She appeared last in episode 628. * Joe Haskell discovered the truth about Chris Jennings in episode 654. * Joe makes reference to "Tom" in this episode. This would be his late cousin Tom Jennings. Tom was introduced in episode 554 and later turned into a vampire by Angelique in episode 563. He was ultimately destroyed by Barnabas Collins in episode 631. * Julia makes reference to David Collins in this episode. David was last seen in episode 648. * A reference is made to Mrs. Sarah Johnson and her son Harry. Mrs. Johnson is the Collinwood housekeeper. She has not been seen since episode 615. Harry Johnson appeared last in in episode 631. Bloopers * In the opening scene where Julia and Carolyn walk from the drawing room into the foyer, the top of a production crew member's head can be seen moving across the bottom of the camera. * At one point, Joel Crothers walks into the bed post in Amy's bedroom. Quotes * Julia Hoffman: Carolyn. I don't like to offer any advice about how you should act with your mother, but I do think that you should be a little less emotional. It will help her. * Carolyn Stoddard: Its impossible even to guess at the agony in her mind. * Cassandra Blair: You must leave Mrs. Stoddard now. She and I have an account to settle. * Cassandra Blair: I must touch you, and when I do, it will be as though you are dead. * Joe Haskell: You're not going to be like him. You're not going to be like either of them. * Elizabeth Collins Stoddard: Why can't I speak? Why can't I move? Why can't I somehow let them know? See also External Links * * * * * ---- Category:1968/Episodes Category:Dark Shadows: The Curse of the Werewolf/Episodes Category:Episodes with plot summaries